Mower



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

A. B. GRAHAM.

MOWER. No. 408.100. Patented July 80, 1889.

Y/CZw w ,fiwnfar M mm 8 4% ii (/3' MM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

A. B. GRAHAM.

MOWER.

No. 408,100. Patented July 30, 1889.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALVARO I GRAHAM, OF CHICAGO, ASSIGNOR TO LE\VIS C. TALLMADGE, OFEVANSON, AND CHARLES .I. HAINES, TRUSTEE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

MOWER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 408,100, dated July 30,1889.

Ap li ati fil d August 11, 1387- Serial No. 246,673. (No model.)

To coZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALVARO GRAHAM, of Chicago, Illinois, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Mowing -Machines, of which thefollowing is a specifica' tion. 7

The principal objects of this invention are to simplify, cheapen, andotherwise improve the construction of mowing-machines. To

IO these ends the invention consists in certain devices or combinationsdetailed in the claims at the end hereof.

In order that the invention may be understood, I have shown in theaccompanying 5 drawings a machine containing it in the form preferred byme. It must be understood, however, that I do not limit myself to theform or arrangement shown and hereinafter described, as manymodifications may be adopted, and in some cases equivalents may besubstituted for some of the parts, without departing from my invention.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of part of the machine.Fig. 2 is a top view of part of the machine with part of the frame cutaway to show parts under it. Fig. 3 is a view of the spider, and Fig. ais a detail of the drive-rim.

The principal parts of this apparatus rep- 0 resented in the drawingsare: A main frame or gearingcarriage; a centerless ground drive-wheel ordrive-rim on the grass side of the main frame; a spider-frame on themain frame provided with rollers which roll on the 3 5 inside of thedrive-rim, which rollers may be grooved to ride on a flange on theinterior of the drive-rim an idler ground-wheel on the opposite side ofthe frame to keep it .oif the ground; a finger-beam and shoe; a link orlinks extending through the drive-rim and connecting the shoe with thegearing-carriage a draft-rod extending forward from the shoe to asuitable point on the machine; a spring or springs acted on by the knifetoward each 5 end of its stroke to assist in bringing it to rest andrelieve the pitman and connections from shock and strain, the powerstored up in the spring or springs being given out again to the knife inaid of the pitman during the first parts of the return-stroke; suitablegearing for transmitting motion from the drive-rim to the pitman; aratchet-toothed clutch at some suitable point of the gearing to permitthrowing the operating parts out of gear when it is desired to run themachine light and to permit the machine being backed without operatingthe knife, whether the parts are in gear or not. Other and minorparts-such as bolts, nuts, pins, levers, &c.which it is unnecessary tomention individually, also enter into the construction of the machine.

In the drawings, 1 is the centerless drivewheel or drive-rim, whichconstitutes an effective main ground-wheel for the machine.

2 isan internal gear on the interior of the 6 rim.

3 is a flange or web on the interior of the rim. 7

lis the main pinion, mounted on shaft 5 and meshing with gear 2 anddriven by the latter.

6 is a bevel-wheel loosely mounted on shaft 5.

7 is a clutch for locking shaft 5 and wheel 6 together when it isdesired to operate the knife. The clutch has ratchet-teeth, as shown, 75 so that when the machine is backed the teeth will slip and wheel 6will not be revolved,but when the machine moves forward the teeth willengage.

8 is a spring to hold the movable part of So the clutch up against theother part.

10 is a lever to throw the movable part of clutch back, so as to releasewheel 6 when it is desired to move the machine without operating theknife. A suitable catch may be provided to hold the lever in eitherposition.

11 is the bevel-pinion on the crank-shaft, driven by bevel-wheel 6, withwhich it meshes.

12 is the crank-disk.

13 is the pitman. It extends through the drive-rim 1 to the knife.

14: is the knife.

15 is a spiderframe arranged within the drive-rim 1. In the form shownit is composed of three arms 16 1.7 18 and aprojection 19 at the back toconnect with the main beam of the frame. One of the arms 17 extendsupward toward the top of the drive-rim and is adjustable in its length.The other arms extend, one forward and one backward, so as to leave anopen space within the rim and below the spider-frame, through which thepitman and other connections of the shoe and knife may pass. On the endof each arm of the spider-frame is a grooved roller 20, which rides onthe fiange 3 and thereby keeps the rim in place and supports the frameof the machine.

21 is the box for the shaft of the main pinion 4. It may be cast withthe spider when the latter is of cast metal, and is arranged on the backarm 18, so that when the machine is operating it tends to lift thepinion and thus reduces friction.

22 is the main beam of the frame.

23 is the tongue.

24 is a bracket at the end of the main beam opposite the spider.

25 is an idler ground-wheel to support the end 2 1: of the main beam.

26 is a gearing-frame secured to beam 22 at some suitable point, tosupport the boxes for the crank-shaft, 850., and the casing of thegearing.

28 is a coupling-link j ournaled at one end on an extension ofcrank-shaft box 27, so that it can oscillate about the center of thecrankshaft. rim and at its other end is loosely jointed to the shoe 29near its back.

30 is a second coupling-link, also extending through the drive -rim, andjointed to the gearing-frame 26 at one end and to the front part of theshoe at the other end. In some cases the two links 28 and 30 may beconnected to the gearing-carriage at the same point, their ends beingbrought together for that purpose; but whether so connected or not, thejoints should be of such character as to permit the rocking or torsionalmotion of the finger-beam, as well as the vibratory motion, when therocking motion is desired.

40 is the swivel on link 30. It is composed of an internally-threadedsocket, into which the threaded end of the outer'part of the link isscrewed. It serves not only as a swivel to permit the twisting of thelink when the beam tilts or rocks, but also to adjust the length of thelink.

31 is a third link, which may or may not extend through the drive-rim.It is jointed at one end to some part of the shoe and at the other endto some convenient part of the machine. In the form shown it is intendedto be jointed to a bracket on the tongue.

The above arrangement, it will be observed, permits the finger-beam torise and fall at either end independently, and to rock forward or backto depress or elevate the finger-points. The pitman being in closeproximity to the main beam or axle 22, and operating in a directionsubstantially parallel to it, its pull and thrust are taken up by thebeam and transmitted directly to the carrying-wheels of the machine,thereby obviating much disagreeable vibration.

32 is a spring so arranged with relation to The link extends through thedrive-.

that may be required in practice.

the shoe and the knife that it resists the motion of the knife as thelatter approaches the end of its stroke. The power thus stored up in thespring at this period may be given out again to the knife as the lattermakes a new stroke. In the form shown the spring is a flat bar. Its endsrest in V- shaped recesses 33 at the front and back of the shoe, and itextends across the knife between lugs 34: and 35 on the knife. The spacebetween the lugs 34 and 35 is greater than the thickness of the spring,so as to permit a certain amount of movement to the knife without itsacting on the spring. The spring thus serves to cushion the knife ateach end of its stroke, to reduce the shock and jar, and to reduce thewear on the pins and pitman-connections.

36 is a lever to govern the motions of raisin g and lowering the shoeand the rocking or tilting of the finger-beam. It is pivoted to thespider, and is provided with the usual dog to engage notches in asegment on the spiderframe.

37 is a chain jointed to the front of the shoe and hooked onto a sheaveon the lever 36. The lower link 39 of the chain is long, and the rod 31passes through it. The effect of this construction is as follows: A pullon the lever rocks the finger-beam back and raises the finger-points. Afurther pull on the lever will bring the lower end of link 39 or thelink 30, or both, in contact with the third link 31. As the beam cannotnow tilt any farther, its inner or shoe end will be raised bodily offthe ground bya further pull of the lever, and it may be thus raiseduntil link 30 is against the spider-frame. WVhen raised, the fingerbeammay be turned up, if desired, for transportation to and from the field.The shoe being hung at its front and rear by chains 37 and 38,respectively, the finger-points may be depressed by letting out chain 37by a forward motion of lever 36, and they may be raised by taking in thechain by a backward motion of that lever. Thus the beam is rocked ortilted. The parts are so proportioned as to give to these movements allthe latitude The top of the link 39 may be made to limit the depressionof the finger-points by resting on rod 3].

38 is a chain connecting the back of the shoe or the inner end of link28 to some convenient part of the spider-frame. It is of such lengththat the beam is suspended just off the ground. The finger-beam istherefore suspended at its inner end by chains 37 and 38; but beingclose to the tread of wheel or rim 1 it will follow the surface of theground just the same as if the shoe rested on the ground, and there willbe no friction between it'and the ground.

I claim 1. The combination, substantially as set forth, of the shoehaving recesses for the spring, the knife, the vertical lugs thereof,the spring connected to both said parts by being seated at its ends inthe recesses'and passing between the lugs, and the lugs having a greaterspace between them than is required by the spring, whereby the spring ispassive at the middle of each stroke.

2. The combination, substantially as set forth, of the finger-beam, theknife, the pit man, and the bar-spring having its ends resting in V-shaped notches on the shoe and passing between lugs on the knife.

3. The combination, substantially as set forth, of the spider-frame, theshoe suspended at its heel from the spider-frame independently of thelifting-lever, the swivel-jointed links connecting the shoe and thegearingcarriage, and the lever for rocking the shoe connected to theforward end of the shoe.

4. The combination, substantially as set forth, of the floatingfinger-beam, the gearing-carriage, the drive-rim at the grass side ofthe gearing-carriage, and the swivel-jointed links connecting thefinger-beam with the gearing-carriage and extending through thedrive-rim, and the lever for rocking the beam.

5. The combination, substantially as setforth, of the finger-beam, thegearing-carriage, a draft-rod connecting the shoe with the tongue, 21.swivel-jointed link at the front of the shoe, and a similar link at theheel of the shoe, and the lever for rocking the beam.

6. The combination, substantially as set forth, of the shoe, thegearing-carriage, the links connecting the shoe and the carriage,

and the draft-rod jointed to the heel of the shoe and passing above theforward link to limit the upward play of the finger-points, and 3 5 thelevenconnected t0 the forward part of the shoefor raising the same.

7. The combination, substantially as set forth, of the finger-beam, thegearing-carriage, two swivel-jointed links connecting the 40 forth, ofthe finger-beam, the lever to rock 5 the same, the chain connecting thelever and the shoe having an elongated link near its attachment to theshoe, and the draft-rod passing through said elongated link and attachedat one end to the shoe and at its other end to 50 the tongue.

9. The combination, substantially as set forth, of the finger-beam, thegearing-carriage, the two swivel-jointed links connect,

in g the fin ger-beam and gearing-carriage, and 5 5 the pit-man locatedbetween said two links, whereby the finger-beam is always in line withthe pi'tman, though free to rise or fall at either end and to rockforward or back.

ALVARO B. GRAHAM.

' \Vitnesses:

WM. S. BATES, ARTHUR G. SANDERSON.

